Diana fund halts aid because of firm's suit

Heather Timmons, New York Times

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, July 12, 2003

2003-07-12 04:00:00 PDT London -- The Princess Diana memorial fund announced Friday that it was cutting off all funding to its grants because of a financial crisis stemming from a lawsuit filed by the Franklin Mint.

The mint, which specializes in commemorative dolls, dishes and baubles featuring celebrities, won the right to produce and sell Diana items in a 1998 legal battle with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. The fund was established by the princess' family after her death in August 1997.

When the 1998 lawsuit was filed, the fund compared the mint's business practices to "vultures preying on the dead." The charity had filed suit to stop the company from making items bearing her likeness.

Tiger Woods had won a similar suit the year after the Franklin Mint manufactured a Masters Cup commemorative medal with his likeness. The company was banned from making Woods products, and the golf star was awarded undisclosed damages.

Under California law, where the 1998 case was tried, a suit to preserve the "right of publicity" may be filed on behalf of a dead person, but only if that person is a Californian. So the charity lost the case and was further required to pay the Franklin Mint about $2 million in lawyer's fees.

This past November, the Franklin Mint filed a suit of its own, claiming it was the victim of a malicious legal campaign by the charity to force it to stop making Princess Diana plates and dolls. The mint is seeking about $25 million and an unspecified amount in punitive damages.

Dr. Andrew Purkis, chief executive of the charity, said the group was legally obligated to stop new or existing grants until the situation was resolved.

"This is what happens when a big company sues a charity," he said.

The Princess Diana fund has pledged $82 million to more than 120 different organizations in the past five years, including the Council for Disabled Children, a group promoting disability rights, and the Children of the Andes, a London-based project that aids Colombian children.

"This is devastating for us," said Christine Oran, fund-raising manager for Children of the Andes. The project was relying on a $114,000 grant from the Princess Diana fund to get started and the "whole project is now in jeopardy," she said.